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Specifications for Motorola’s upcoming entry-level Android handset, the Morrison, have leaked, and anybody hoping the company might have injected a little interest along with what’s presumably going to be a low purchase price will have to go home disappointed. The parts list sounds mighty reminiscent of HTC’s existing Android devices, with a 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A processor, 256MB of RAM, a 512MB ROM and 320 x 480 HVGA touchscreen display.
There’s also WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, quadband GSM and triband WCDMA (900/1700 or 1900/2100), together with a 3-axis accelerometer, class 6 MicroSD slot supporting 32GB cards, USB 2.0 with a microUSB connector and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The camera is a 5-megapixel unit with autofocus, geotagging and 25fps 320 x 240 video recoridng, and there’s both standalone GPS and A-GPS. The Morrison will support Exchange ActiveSync push email, has a digital compass, proximity sensor and ambient light sensor.

As for a release date, the Motorola Morrison is tipped to arrive on October 21st on T-Mobile USA. No word of pricing as yet, but this is definitely being positioned as an entry-level, budget device.

Stealth Computer have unveiled their latest notebook, the NW-2000, a ruggedized hybrid laptop/tablet based around Intel’s 1.06GHz Core 2 Duo, a 13.3-inch sunlight viewable resistive touchscreen and MIL-STD-810F, shock & vibration compliance. The sturdy convertible has 2GB of RAM (4GB maximum), a 160GB shock-mounted hard-drive (or optional SSD) and spill-resistant keyboard, and can cope with being dropped 91cm onto a wood-covered concrete surface 26 times in succession without impairing functionality.
There’s also standard WiFi a/g/n, Bluetooth, gigabit ethernet and GPS, together with optional HSDPA. A standard DVD burner, PC card slot, fingerprint scanner and TPM security module round out the main specifications, and Stealth suggest you’ll see up to 6hrs runtime from the standard 7,800mAh battery.

The whole thing weighs a not-inconsiderable 9.04lbs and measures a chunky 9.96 x 13.54 x 2.31 inches. The Stealth NW-2000 is available to order now, priced from $4,895.

Chuwi’s W3000 still looks unlikely to arrive on US or European shelves any time soon, but that hasn’t dulled the enthusiasm of the guys over at MP4 Nation. They’ve been putting the 4.1-inch touchscreen PMP through its paces, and finding that in contrast to the SmartQ 5, the W3000 actually does a good job both as a media player and as an internet device.

Chuwi have modified the standard Windows CE version of Internet Explorer, and it apparently renders sites far better than the normal build. However there’s still no Flash support, which means video sites like YouTube and Hulu are no-go areas. Instead, you’ll be looking to play FLV, RMVP, MP4 and AVI video on the PMP, and happily it’s all reportedly smooth and has a handy TV output for larger-screen entertainment.

Unfortunately, despite being Windows CE based the W3000 proved unhappy with the GAPI gaming/application API, which limits its software flexibility. Still, out of the box there’s WiFi support, a microSD card slot, USB host port and a decent media player front-end. It remains to be seen whether Chuwi develop a version of the W3000 for export - right now it only has a Chinese version of CE running - but if they do, expect it to come in at under $170 for the 8GB and under $140 for the 2GB model.

MIDs a failure? No no no, how could that be when this little beauty is headed to the market? Known here as the Compal KAX15 MID, but likely to find itself a variety of alternative brands including Gigabyte and Aigo, it’s based on Intel’s existing Menlow platform and packs an 800MHz Atom Z515 processor, a 4.8-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen and slide-out QWERTY keyboard.



That processor is actually quite clever, because despite the relatively low billed clock speed it also supports 1.2GHz bursting. While running at 1.2GHz would generally produce too much heat and have too great an impact on battery life, bursting-compatible applications will be able to poke the Z515 into running at the faster speed until the CPU’s controller decides things are getting too hot.

There are also dual cameras, front and back. Squinting at the product spec in the video below (courtesy jkkmobile), it looks like the KAX15 has 512MB of RAM, runs Windows XP (though the press shots have an Android-esque status bar across the top) and have WiFi and Bluetooth. No word on specific launch dates or pricing, but at least the Compal KAX15 will land before Moorestown.

New renders of what’s said to be the final design for Michael Arrington’s CrunchPad internet and media tablet have been released, and its taken a big step forward from the last devices we saw. Now crafted from aluminum, not plastic, so as to cut thickness down to 18mm, the CrunchPad still has a 12-inch touchscreen, WiFi internet access and a media player app.

The device has minimal hardware controls, but offers a USB port for plugging in an external keyboard or other devices. That way it could be used as a netbook-style portable computer, ideal for blogging and messaging as well as more passive internet browsing.

According to Arrington, the first hardware prototypes of this new design will reach their office in a few weeks time; they’re still talking about a roughly $300 price tag. Below you can see the latest video demo of the CrunchPad, running on the previous-gen prototype; the final CrunchPad design will boot straight into the Webkit-based browser.

Sony have announced two new products in its GIGA Juke range of streaming home audio equipment, which also add docks for the company’s Walkman range such as the OLED-touchscreen Walkman-X we reviewed. The NAS-SC500PK (shown here) gets increased amplification - up to 100W - and a chunkier 160GB hard-drive, while the NAS-E300HD (shown after the cut) sticks with 60W and half the storage.

The GIGA Juke NAS-SC500PK has a full color display and can feed music to up to five satellite systems; each can play separate tracks, or - by pressing the PARTY button - be synchronized to play the same thing. It comes with a new speaker design and can connect directly to your WiFi router to update its media database. There’s also the same SenseMe autoplaylist feature as on the new Sony PSP Go!

As for the Sony GIGA Juke NAS-E300HD, that has a monochrome display and 80GB of storage, together with 60W of amplification. It, too, can connect to the internet to update its database. Both it, and the NAS-SC500PK, will land in Europe midway through June 2009, prices to be confirmed.

Acer have brought their F1 Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone to Computex, and there’s finally a spec sheet to go with the prototype. We now know that the F1 is based on Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor - the same as Toshiba’s TG01 - paired with a spacious 3.8-inch WVGA touchscreen and 5-megapixel autofocus camera.


There’s also an always-welcome 3.5mm headphone jack on the top of the phone, and the camera has a flash to accompany it. The front controls are touch-sensitive, plus there’s a front-facing camera for video calls, GPS, WiFi and support for up to 7.2Mbps HSDPA.

Acer are talking about potentially putting their own shell on top of Windows Mobile 6.5, but nothing has been decided. Apparently the F1 will be reaching shelves by Christmas, but there’s no word on what this flagship Acer smartphone might cost.

Sony Ericsson handsets are still relatively rare in the US market, and so Sony Electronics are stepping in as the official unlocked handset reseller for their cellular cousins. One of the first offerings is the W995a, a SIM-unlocked multimedia phone featuring an 8.1-megapixel camera and Walkman mediaplayer; it’s available for pre-order starting today at SonyStyle.com and will be available in stores on July 6 for around $600. Sony sent one over for SlashGear to check out.


The W995a is a 3G-enabled phone (850/1900/2100MHz UMTS/HSPA) that’s geared towards folks seeking a premium multimedia experience. Primary functionality includes snapping photos and video, playing music and videos, or accessing the internet, and our first-impressions of the W995a is that it’s a high-quality, compact way of doing all that.

The W995a is also equipped for WiFi access, and includes stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) support for use with wireless headphones. Bundled with the W995a there’s a set of “premium” 3.5mm headphones, an 8GB Memory Stick Micro card (which wasn’t provided in our review unit) and a USB connector cable.

The 2.6-inch QVGA display is gorgeous, even though it’s LCD and not AMOLED like Sony’s recent Walkman PMP, and there’s plenty of sturdy and tactile metal used in building the casing and the buttons.

Sony Ericsson created the W995a for those who are up on the latest in mobile phone design, technology and feature sets and typically purchase unlocked phones for their added features and flexibility to switch phones whenever the latest and greatest is available. Doing so through Sony themselves mean you’re also getting a warranty and access to their Sony Ericsson partner network, just in case something goes wrong with the handset.

I confess, I’ve been hearing Vincent and Ewdi wax lyrical about the Verizon and Sprint versions of the MiFi portable personal hotspot, and going green with envy. Happily we’re finally hearing details regarding the GSM HSPA version of the device, the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2352, and while there’s still no sign of European carrier confirmation it’s already showing up at importer Mobilx.

Thanks to the new information, we now know that the MiFi 2352 supports triband HSDPA/HSUPA (900/1900/2100MHz) and quadband GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900MHz), with support for up to 7.2Mbps downlink and 5.76Mbps uplink speeds (network depending). As with the CDMA EVDO Rev.A versions, it supports WiFi b/g with WEP, WPA and WPA2 security, and can handle up to five simultaneous clients.

It also offers GPS, as with the Sprint version of the MiFi, and measures 62 x 98 x 15.3mm while weighing just 81g. Interestingly, it has a microSDHC card slot - happy with up to 16GB cards - that can be accessed by any of the WiFi clients, basically turning the 2352 into a mini-NAS.

Mobilx currently have the MiFi 2352 listed for $259 before taxes, unlocked, and with the first stock expected on June 20th.

Intel have announced three new Core 2 Duo processors, as well as an ultra-low voltage (ULV) chip and new GS40 Express Chipset. The three new Core 2 Duo chips are the T9900, P9700 and P8800, topping out at 3.06Ghz with 6MB of L2 cache and a 1,066MHz FSB.

As for the SU2700, that’s a Pentium ULV chip running at 1.3GHz, and will fall into Intel’s CULV range for thin and light ultraportables. It might just end up paired with the GS40 chipset, which Intel refer to as ”a value chipset”; based on the GS45, it includes the GMA 4500M graphics accelerator with up to 384MB of memory and a 400MHz GPU, integrated Blu-ray HD playback and native hardware HD video stream decoding, and HDMI outputs.

Intel also announced its new My WiFi technology, which allows any recent Intel-based WiFi notebook or netbook to connect to both a WLAN and up to eight WiFi PAN devices simultaneously. This allows for point-to-point WiFi printing, displaying and synchronizing, without breaking the main wireless network connection. My WiFi will be supported in Intel’s new WiFi Link 5000 Series, the company’s second-gen draft-n cards for Centrino 2 platforms.

LG has finally released the world’s first DivX HD 1080p certified player, the BD390, which was debuted at CES this year. The player features an 802.11n Wi-Fi module and support for DivX streaming from a DLNA server. Priced at $399.95, the LG BD390 also features BD-Live support, a 7.1-channel audio output, a 1GB of built-in memory, and a USB 2.0 socket.